San Francisco

Built on 42 cliffs, surrounded on three sides by water, San Francisco possesses an elegant beauty only few cities would ever reach, thanks to the fact that for hundreds of years, it has been a cultural melting pot, making of the city a mixture of old and modern architecture.

Frisco is also wordly reputated as the nicest city in America. Just leave your car and do not let the ups and downs of Frisco's cliffs scare you. San Francisco has perfect public transportation system : taxis, bus an the marvelous cable cars, a sort of tramway ascending and descending the cliffs with a speed of 15 kmh, letting you know every time it stops by ringing a noisy bell. (More)

Northwest of Frisco you will find Muir Woods, name given to the famous sequoia forests near San Francisco. Some of these sequoias reach a height of 72 m and a diameter of 6.3 m.

Monterey

120 km to the south, Monterey had been the background of many John Steinbeck novels. The Old Custom House is today transformed into a historical museum, as well as the Adobe House of Robert Louis Stevenson.

Carmel

A few kilometers to the south, we will arrive at Carmel.

Take the Del Monte Forest road through the Seventeen Mile Drive. Follow the seaside way to see cypresses blown by the wind.

From Carmel to Big Sur, about 50 km away through the State Highway 1, you will be able to admire the wild beauty of the coast. Many writers and artists live here.

In this place, the State 1 bifurcates towards the interior and about 8 km from the highway you will arrive at Historical State Park of San Simeon, once a fabulous domain of media mogul William Randolph Hearst.

Yosemite National Park

Continue about 130 km towards the northeast until Merced, the entrance to Yosemite National Park with its splendid landscapes. In the park, you can visit Glacier Point, elevating to an altitude of 980 meter high. Impressive view towards the valley, the peaks and the waterfalls, before you continue your visit to Mariposa Grove and its giant sequoias, and to Waterwheel Falls.

Lake Tahoe

Pursuing the road about 320 km to the north, you will arrive at Lake Tahoe. Its blue water seems welcoming, but only a polar bear would risk to plunge into this lake, fed by rapid flows coming from the Sierra snows. Do not miss a tour on boat, though, going towards the rives of Nevada, where the world's most famous paradise of pleasures is located : Las Vegas with its casinos, nightclubs, and chic restaurants to dine in.

Sacramento

Return back to San Francisco by the route of Sacramento, the Californian capital, which would make you go across the old haunted towns of the Gold Rush age.

The Swiss captain Johann August Sutter was established here in 1839 and had a fortress constructed, a bit under the confluent of the American and Sacramento Rivers. Soon, new colonists came to live around the fortress, attracted by the valley's fertile earth.

In 1848, James Wilson Marshall discovered gold in Coloma, 35 miles northeast of Fort Sutter, the golddiggers arrived there as soon as the news had been spread. In 1849, Captain Sutter's son built Sacramento City. Six months after its foundation, the city had already more than 10,000 inhabitants and in 1854, it was chosen as the capital of California.

This part of California is also land of the sequoias, born even before mankind existed. 320 km to the north, you can have a return voyage of 65 km across the forests, on board of Skunk small train. It passes through 33 bridges and serves as a shuttle between Fort Bragg and Wilits.

For many, South California means Los Angeles, Hollywood, Disneyland in Anaheim, and a coast extending up to the Mexican frontiers. Well, South California has a lot more than that, actually. Fertile valleys and arid deserts, oceanic coasts with wild beauty strewn by white missions built there by the Spanish priests, and in the interior of the region you have fabulous holiday stations and impressive mountains.

Los Angeles

1542. Spanish ships landed in the bay of San Pedro, but it was only in 1781 that the Californian Spanish Governor, Don Felipe de Neva, created the city called El Pueblo de Nestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula, in the marshy plain now transfigured into a gigantic megapolis.

1842. Gold was found in the Placerita Canyon, north of the town, then followed the Gold Rush, triggering the city's rapid extension.

1846. Los Angeles was integrated peacefully to the United States of America. In 1899, a port was constructed in the bay of San Pedro, granting a new economic power source to the city. 

L.A. is California's biggest city and also America's second-largest one.

Due to its extremely large dimensions, it is indeed difficult to assemble all points of interests altogether in one day, because they are located far enough one another : you absolutely need a car.

The historical center, the Plaza, is located in a valley constituted by the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains.

Follow a guided visit to the quarter where Hollywood stars live, the Beverly Hills, and on the famous Sunset Strip in Hollywood. Go and see the Grauman Chinese Theater where the Hollywood Boulevard of Stars.

Do a tour by car along the Miracle Mile, the elegant commercial quarter juxtaposing the Wilshire Boulevard in the direction of Beverly Hills.

Visit the Farmers Market where excellently fresh products coming from the neighboring farms are sold. You will love dining out at outdoor tables. Then follow the guided walk to the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Park. The Park houses the Old Mission Church, the Old Spanish Plaza, and Avila Adobe.

The Universal Studios is certainly not to miss. Take a tour on the magical train riding across hectares of cinema decors. You will discover the 'behind the scene' of the most famous Hollywood movies as well as the most famous American tv shows, and with a bit of luck you will perhaps get the chance to see some famous Hollywood stars.

Three of the world's biggest astronomic observatories are located on Mount Palomar, Mount Hamilton and Mount Wilson.

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, on the Californian coast, is home to more than 30 species of whales, dolphins and seals. An ideal place to observe these marine mammals. From May 1 to August 1 you can join the Whale Watching Condor Cruises, guided by a team of nature experts sharing you their love for these incredible animals.

Buena Vista

32 km to the south. Visit Knott's Berry Farm and the haunted town. Distractions, promenades, exhibitions, theater, and a marvelous place to have your lunch.

Then move on to the Japan Town and the Deer Park, where, apart from deers, we can also see seals,  golden carps and peacocks. Then have a cup of tea at the Japanese Tea House.

Disneyland

Now on the road for Disneyland, in Anahemin, 44 km south of LA. 80 hectares of Disney fairytales and magical lands are open to you, through a 19th century station. Jump on board on the train which will lead you to do a complete tour of Disneyland.

Other unique trains of the same kind will take you across the replicas of Grand Canyon, Rainbow Caverns, and the Living Desert. Principal sections : Tomorrowland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Adventureland and New Orleans Square. You can take a flying ship, an Indian canoe, a rolling ship and even an atomic submarine.

Marineland

40 km south of LA, you can see basketball playing porpoises, dolphins jumping up to 8 meter high in perfect formation, other fish and marine mammals complete the marvelous spectacle. The charming San Juan Capistrano mission is located about 94 km to the south. With an extremely punctual schedule, swallows arrive here on March 19, and fly away on October 23, every year.

San Diego

In 1542, the Portuguese explorer Juan Rodrigues Cabrillo landed in Point Loma. But it was only two centuries later, in 1769, that the Spaniard Junipero Serra, a Franciscan priest, founded the Mission of San Diego, first European colony on the North American West Coast. 

Old Town with its adobe houses is concentrated around the Washington Square. We will see the Ramona's Marriage Place (1825), the Old Spanish Cemetery, Presidio Park and the Junipero Serra Museum.

In the vast Balboa Park located in the city center, you will find the National History Museum, the Fine Arts Gallery and the very famous San Diego Zoo.

Discover also the Cabrillo National Monument on the south point of Point Loma, as well as the Old Lighthouse dating back in 1855. A point where we can observe the annual migration of gray whales.

Palm Springs
144 km east, Palm Springs is a leisure station, in the desert, open all year long. 290 km northeast of San Diego, we arrive at the Mojave Desert, once a mining land.

Death Valley

Further north, it is the Death Valley that we will visit, the driest and the lowest point (85 m below the sea level) of America.

Death Valley scared the pioneers and the golddiggers, but now it possesses many holiday stations open during the winter where we can swim, play golf, and take a sun bath.

Photo Credits : Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau

California Travel & Tourism Commission - Robert Holmes

San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau -Suzette M. Cook